간접흡연방지조례 제정을 위한 검토

Abstract

A recent research shows that over than 90% of non-smokers are exposed to passive tobacco smoking. More than 58% of them inhale the smoke involuntarily longer than 4 hours. Smoking causes lung diseases and especially noxious to the health of pregnant women, young or old people. Victims of secondhand smoke raises a kind of social problem because the number and the danger is so serious. Especially the health of restaurant workers is threatened by long hours of passive smoking. Government adopted measures to prevent damage from smoking. Education and enlightenment, prohibition of tobacco ads, regulation of tobacco vending machines are included among them. And many of public places are designated as non smoking area. Regardless of such policies, citizens are still facing the danger of involuntary smoking everyday. It is because most restaurants are not included in non smoking area by the Act for Enhancement of People's Health. In this circumstance, local government ordinance for prohibition of secondhand smoke is necessary. The Constitutional Court decided in favor of acts regulating smoking in behalf of people's health and rights on life. However, we cannot conclude from this decision that any rule prohibiting smoking can be justified. A balanced local law should be made with consideration of interests between smokers and non-smokers, and public interest. It is a worldwide tendency to prohibit indoor smoking to prevent secondhand tobacco smoking, and WHO adapted international treaty to make governments take measures to prevent involuntary smoking. Korea signed this treaty, so measures should be taken by February 2010. Central government should make or revise rules to bring the treaty into effect. In other case, local government's rule can be an alternative measure. I suggested a model ordinance for regulating secondhand smoke in restaurants at the end of this paper.